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 Tying
Shoes
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to include your favorite shoe tying activity in this theme!
*Songs/Poems
Criss Cross Tying Shoes
(tune: Splish Splash I was taking
a Bath)
Criss Cross and go under the bridge
Then you got to pull it tight.
Make a loop but keep a long tail
That is how to do it right
Then you take the other string
and you wrap it 'round the loop
Pull it through the hole
Now you got the scoop
Criss Cross and go under the
bridge (this is where you tie the loops together)
Now you made a Double Knot!
Teepee Tying
Use different colored shoe laces
so that you can cue the child on which side they should be working
with at a given step In the poem below each line corresponds to one
step of the tying process.
Build a tee pee
Come inside
Close it tight so we can hide
Over the mountain
And around we go
Here's my arrow
And here's my bow!
*Practice Time
Jump Rope Tying
My children have an easier time
learning to tie their shoes by starting with something larger than a
shoelace, which requires the use of their fingers instead of their
whole hand, at a young age this is more difficult.
I sit the children down and tie a
jump rope around their leg, then the learning process of tying shoes
is done on a large scale. Once they have the movements down, they
easily switch to a shoe lace. This can be taken in the car for
practice on trips in addition to practcing at home.
Contributed by: Kelly
2 Different Colored Shoe Laces
At the ends fuse two different
colored laces together forming one shoe string. Lace a old shoe with
this shoe string. This gives the children a shoe to practice with two
different colored strings so they can see all of the steps.
Contributed by: Priscilla
*Story
Sad Rabbit
Once there was a rabbit that was
very sad because his ears were so long and narrow that he stepped on
them all the time. One day a fairy landed on the bunny's head. She
lifted up the bunny's ears and crossed them over like an x. Then she
put one ear through the bottom of the x and pulled.
Next, she made each long ear into
a loop and made another x like before. She put an ear under that x
and pulled again. From then on the bunny remembered how to tie his
ears into a bow, and he lived happily every after.
Teepee Tying Story
A Native American made a teepee
(pull lace up and cross one under the other) and it collapsed! (pull
first "knot" down). So he started another, (make first loop
for bow) and he took this string and went around it, (wrap other lace
around loop) and went inside, (push lace under new loop) and there he
had it! Two Tents! (pull loops for bow) .
This story is great for a group
activity where the children can help one another follow the story,
and if you make pictures to go with the story the kids can follow the
steps by themselves! The story also helps to limit the child's
frustration with learning to tie because they are helping the Native
American to build a teepee and if they fail it is the Native American
who needs more help!
A Story For Tying Shoes
My Shoelace Blues I've tried and
tried to tie you, shoe. I've never done it yet. A loop that
flip-flops on the floor Is as close as I can get. I've practiced on
spaghetti. I've practiced on the mop. I've practiced on my sister
until she made me stop. So here's the loop again, shoe. I'll hold it
with my thumb. I'll wrap the other end around... And yank it into
bows. It's done!
*Learning
Centers
Gold Shoes
Paint an old pair of sneakers with
gold spray paint and lace with bright colored laces. All the children
will want to practice tying their shoes.
*Directions
for tying shoes.
Tying shoes
Need: Shoes with laces
When teaching children how to tie their shoes, split up the entire process and teach it in steps. Remember to undo and redo each step repeatedly, until it appears the child seems comfortable with it. Not only does conquering a step encourage the child, but it makes the remainder of the task seems that much smaller, and therefore less intimidating.
STEP 1:
Cross the laces, bring one lace around and through the "hole," then pull them tight.
STEP 2:
Simply add a loop to one lace at the end of Step 1.
STEP 3:
The child wraps the other lace around the loop, and then pushes the middle of that lace through the "hole" under the loop; stop as soon as the child pushes the second lace through that hole.
STEP 4:
The child releases the original loop, and grabs the second,
newly-created loop on the other side of the hole.
STEP 5:
The child regrasps the original loop, so that they now have a
loop between each thumb and index finger, and pulls the knot tight.
STEP 6:
You explain that it's a good idea to try to make the loops and the ends of the laces about the same length.
Two hints: 1) instead of starting with shoes right away, start instead with rope, which children can handle more easily and makes thetying and structure of the knot more evident, and 2)when using shoes, tie two differently colored laces together, then lace them into the shoe: this makes it easier to refer to the lace you want the child to manipulate.
Contributed By: Adam Carpenter
*Directions
for those who have trouble tying shoes the regular way.
Have the child make an X, put one
end of the shoestring through the X and pull tight. Most children do
not have a problem with this. Then make two long bunny ears, make an
X with them, put one through the bottom part of the X and pull tight.
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